实用英语阅读素材.txt
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1、AN INTERVIEW WITH AIG CHAIRMAN MAURICE GREENBERGXU: Ok, now, business aside, whats your personal affection towards China and Chinese people and Chinese culture?GREENBERG: Well, the more I go to china, the more I feel close to China. I go several times a year, part of it was, I think, the five-thousa
2、nd-year culture is very 2)appealing. And I think weve learned a great deal from Chinese culture, from the beauty, the patience that the Chinese exhibit. We have a lot to learn from China, and I think thats part of what is the attraction of going to china, and I have enjoyed doing business with the p
3、eople in China. Its been a great experience.XU: As the main 3)sponsor for this series of culture events, how do you think, this kind of cultural event can create and promote the 4)mutual understanding between the two.GREENBERG: I think that the cultural exchanges benefits relationships dramatically.
4、 Its in the national interests of both our countries that the U.S. and China have a 5)constructive growing relationship with. China and the U.S. will be the two most important countries on this planet. And so its important that we have a good understanding of each other. And that theres trust and co
5、nfidence, and a lot of that comes from people, not from politicians, but from people who can appreciate the culture that each country has. You learn from us, we learn from you.XU: And what, specifically, what shouldthe two peoples learn from each other?.GREENBERG: We learn to appreciate your history
6、, your paintings, your 6)sculptures, your art, your music, your clothes, and you learn from us. We appreciate when those things are exchanged. You understand people better when you understand their culture and their history. If there was no history and no culture, how do you learn from one another?
7、If you go any place in the U.S, you will see Chinese restaurants and you will see Chinese paintings in most museums. So there is an appreciation of Chinese history and culture. You have the oldest culture, a five thousand-year-old culture, we werent even an 7)afterthought when China was developing t
8、his culture and history. So we do have an appreciation of that. And the more http: http: http: http:www.ba- http:/www.jjl.so http:/www.news- American people can be exposed to the Chinese culture, the more you understand the depth of their history and culture, we come to appreciate it better, and tha
9、t influences political exchanges and political understanding as well. If people understand it better, politicians have to respond to the will of the people, not the other way around.-AGI档滭塣顣顣1) AIG: American International Group2) appealing a. 3) sponsor n. 4) mutual a.5) constructive a. 6)
10、sculpture n. 7 afterthought n. MAXIMUS: 1)Archers, three weeks from now I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line, stay with me, if you find yourself alone riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled for you are in the Elysium
11、, and youre already dead. Brothers, what we do alive echoes in eternity!CAESAR: Tell me again, Maximus, why are we here.MAXIMUS: For the Glory of the empire, 2)Sire.CAESAR: Ah yes, ah yes I remember. Do you see that map, Maximus? That is the world which I created. For 25 years, I have conquered, spi
12、lt blood, expanded the empire. Since I became Caesar, Ive known 4 years without war. 4 years of peace in 20! And for what, I brought the sword, nothing more?MAXIMUS: Caesar, your life.CAESAR: Please, dont call me that. Come, please. Come sit. Let us talk together now, very simply asmen. Well, Maximu
13、s, talk.MAXIMUS: 5,000 of my men are out there on the freezing mud. 3,000 of them are bloodied and 3)cleaved. 2,000 will never leave this place. I will not believe that they fought and died for nothing.CAESAR: And what would you believe?MAXIMUS: They fought for you, and for Rome.CAESAR: And what is
14、Rome, Maximus?MAXIMUS: Ive seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark. Rome is the light.CAESAR: And yet youve never been there, you have not seen what it has become. I am dying, Maximus! When a man sees his end, he wants to know there was some purpose to his life. How will
15、the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher, the warrior, the tyrant? Or will I be the emperor who gave Rome back her true self? There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish. It was so fragile, and
16、I fear that it will not survive the winter. Maximus, let us whisper now, together now you and I. You have a son, tell me about your home.MAXIMUS: My house is in the hills above Tiupllo, a very simple place. Pink stones that warm in the sun. A kitchen garden, it smells of herbs in the day, jasmine in
17、 the evening. Through the gate is a giant 4)poplar. Figs, apples, pears, and soil mark as black, black as my wifes hair. Grapes on the south slopes, olives on the north. Wild 5)ponies playing in the house that teach my son, he always wants to be one of them.CAESAR: Remember the last time you were ho
18、me?MAXIMUS: Two years 264 days of this morning.CAESAR: Oh I envy you, Maximus. Its a good home, worth fighting for. There is one more duty that I ask of you before you go home.MAXIMUS:what would you have me do ,Caesar?CAESAR:I want you do become the Protector of Rome after I die. I will empower you
19、to one end alone.to give power back to the people ofRome ,and end the corruption that has crippled it.LUCILLA: Is it really so terrible seeing me again?MAXIMUS: No, Im tired from battle.LUCILLA: It hurts you to see my father so fragile. Commodus expects of my father will announce his 7)succession wi
20、thin days. Will you serve mybrother as you served his father?MAXIMUS: I will always serve Rome.LUCILLA: Do you know, I still remember you in my prayers. Oh yes, I pray.MAXIMUS: I was sad to hear of your husbands death, I mourned him.LUCILLA: Thank you.MAXIMUS: And I hear you have a son.LUCILLA: Yes,
21、 Lucius. Hell be nearly eight years old.MAXIMUS: My son is also nearly eight. I thank you for your prayers.MAXIMUS: Ancestors, I ask for your kindness. Blessed mother, come to me with the Gods desire for the future. Blessed father, watch over my wife and son with a ready sword. Whisper to them, I li
22、ve only to hold them again. Ancestors, I honor you. I will try to live with the dignity you have taught me.CAESAR: Are you ready to do your duty for Rome?COMMODUS: Yes, father.CAESAR: You will not be emperor.COMMODUS: Which wise or older man is to take my place?CAESAR: My powers will pass to Maximus
23、 to hold in trust until the senate is ready to rule once more. Rome is to be a republic again. The Pantheon here was built by the Emperor Haydrian in the 2nd century AD and its 1)dome is still one of the largest 2)concrete domes in the world. Its 50 yards across and its concrete is up to 20 feet thi
24、ck.The word concrete comes from the Latin concretus, meaning grown together or harden. Romanconcrete was a mixture of sand, powdered 3)limestone and stone 4)rubble, pretty well what it is today. To construct 5)arches and 6)vaults, the Romans also developed a lightening. And the higher they went the
25、lighter they made the concrete. In this way they could roof over much larger areas than would be possible with stone.But one of the problems with concrete is that even after its hardened, it still absorbs water. So the Romans added a mix of 7)volcanic 8)cinders and clay called Potsularna. Potsularna
26、 reacts with the 9)lime in the 10)mortar and sets quickly. And most important of all, its resistant to water.The Romans had invented damp proof concrete, and they used it for the foundations of buildings like the pantheon, for lining reservoirs and for constructing harbors. Concrete allowed the Roma
27、ns to build big and fast, and thus 11)impose their authority on tribes still living in simple structures of wood or mud. Concrete may well have been one of the secret weapons of the Roman Empire.25020concretus1) dome n. 2) concrete n. 3) limestone n. 4) rubble n. 5) arch n. 6) vaul
28、t n. 7) volcanic a. 8) cinder n. 9) lime n. 10) mortar n. 11) impose v. Strawberries, cherries and the angels kissing springMy summer wine is really made from all these thingsI walked in town on silver spurs that jingled tuneA song that I had only sing to just a fewShe saw my silver spurs and saidLe
29、ts spare some time and I will give to you summer wineOh, oh, summer wine*Strawberries, cherries and the angels kissing springMy summer wine is really made from all these thingsTake off your silver spurs and help me pass the timeAnd I will give to you(my) summer wineOh, summer wine*My eyes grew heavy
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